
Sala d'Arte San Giovanni
Sienese painting in Castiglione d'Orcia from XIV and XV centuries in a strategic defence point for the old Via Francigena

Madonna and child

In particular, a prestigious work of Pietro Lorenzetti stands out, the Madonna and Child. This artist, of Sienese origins, is one of the most important exponents of the great period of painting of the 1300s. The older brother of Ambrogio Lorenzetti, who was responsible for the fresco The Allegory of Good Government in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, Pietro trained under Duccio di Buoninsegna and participated in the decoration of the lower Basilica at Assisi with painters of the School of Giotto. He then returned to Tuscany in 1320 where he left behind the testimony of his great artistic ability.
This panel painting, after an attentive, year-long restoration, returns to its original splendour next to paintings of the calibre of Simone Martini, Il Vecchietto, and Giovanni di Paolo. On a gilded background, Maria holds her son delicately in her arms, in keeping with iconographic tradition. A deeply profound religious theme represented with great humanity. The style, the use of colour and the attempts to create volume show the direct stylistic influences of his unmatchable masters.
Info: museisenesi.org